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Self-Harm: A Case Study

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Self-harm commonly involves self-injury by cutting, burning or poisoning with medication (National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health (NCCMH) 2012). Deliberate Self-Harm will be defined as any intentional damage to one’s own body, without a conscious intent to die (Taylor et al., 2009). This definition excludes issues of suicidality, self-harm as a response to psychotic experiences, or as a repetitive act characteristic of some developmental disorders or brain injury. People with certain types of mental health disorder may be at increased risk of self-harm (NCCMH 2004). Self-harm can affect people of any age, culture or sociological background and can help to predict suicidal behavior.

Self-Harm is a public health problem in the UK, accounting …show more content…

Nurses have identified that, the busy nature of their work environment, the lack of time, privacy and resources prevent the development of therapeutic relationships with patients. Emergency department nurses have to continuously care for patients within four hours of admission (NHS 2013). The busy nature of this environment, understaffing and time constraints may result in nurses not identifying and addressing the reasons for patients’ self-harming behaviour. This could potentially lead to repeated admissions at a time when emergency departments are already under pressure. It is crucial that nurses in emergency department have to be compassionate, empathetic and effective in assessing and treating some patients, especially due to the associated risk of repeat episodes of self-harm and suicide following an initial …show more content…

This is due to a fact that patients who self-harm stressed that nurses lack knowledge and suboptimal communication which is a factor affecting the quality of care provided (Taylor et al., 2009). Patients who self-harm report that they get high levels of stigma and negative attitudes since nurses call them attention seekers or manipulative as a result of self-injurious behavior (Martin and Chapman, 2014). It is therefore imperative that services for self-harm people are delivered with compassion and in a non-judgmental manner. This is an ethical issue in nursing practice, particularly as having a non-judgmental attitude is a core nursing value (Nursing and Midwifery Council,

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